My thoughts on The Book of Numbers

So, guess what? I am through with the book of Numbers. We are moving forward people! Glory be to the name of the Lord.

So, before I share my thoughts on this book, I wanted to give a quick update on the progress of my spiritual life. So, lately I have been feeling a little down. My mind hasn’t really been right and I have been feeling very distracted. I am not exactly sure why I am feeling this way but it hasn’t really been the best feeling. However, I have shared this with God and I am clinging to him for strength. I wanted to fill you guys in on this because it is something that a lot of people go through from time to time but I just want to remind you that God loves you and He is there for you always. Never forget.

So, let’s get into it.

I enjoyed reading this book more than I thought I would. It is one of those books that I wasn’t very familiar with in terms of content and so I wasn’t sure how it would be but I learned so much and I am thrilled to share it with you.

1. Follow God’s Guidance: A lot of times, we always feel like we know best but the truth is that we know nothing compared to God. As human beings, we have no way of knowing what is going to happen in the next second, minute, hour, day, year and so on but God knows. He knows our past, present and future and when He tells us to do something or tells us to go one way, it is for our good. We have to learn to trust God because He knows us better than we know ourselves. In Chapter 9, the Bible lets us know God’s presence came over The Tent of the Lord’s Presence in the form of a cloud. Whenever the cloud lifted, the Israelites knew that it was time to break camp and they followed this cloud wherever it led. When it came down and remained on the tent, the Israelites did not move. God always showed them the way and they followed Him. When you follow God and his instructions, you are doing yourself a favour because He will never lead you astray.

2. There is nothing wrong in asking for help: I think in this world, we always like to think that we can do everything by ourselves; we don’t need help. I go through this every now and then. Some times, I don’t want to ask anyone for help but the truth is no man is an island. We need help sometimes. For example, in Chapter 11, Moses got to a point where he was fed up. Listen, leading the Israelites was not an easy job. They always complained; always ranted. The second, things start to get uncomfortable, they got to complaining and Moses as their leader always had to deal with their complaints. But the truth is Moses was just a man and it can get tiring. So, here the Israelites go, complaining about Manna. First they complain that they want food, God sends them Manna and now they are tired of it and they want meat, so they complain. So Moses got tired and said to God in 11: 11-15 (GNT):

Why have you treated me so badly? Why are you displeased with me? Why have you given me the responsibility for all these people? I didn’t create them or bring them to birth! Why should you ask me to act like a nurse and carry them in my arms like babies all the way to the land you promised their ancestors? Where can I get enough meat for all these people? They keep whining and asking for meat. I can’t be responsible for all these people by myself; it’s too much for me! If you are going to treat me like this, have pity on me and kill me, so that I won’t have to endure your cruelty any longer.

And God heard him. So, God told Moses to assemble seventy respected men who could help him. So, whenever you are overwhelmed or you feel tired, don’t be ashamed to ask for help.

3. Do not doubt God: Listen, the power of God is beyond the understanding of any human. God’s glory is beyond anything you can ever think of. He is the LORD, ladies and gentlemen. Don’t question it. Don’t doubt it. God says in 11:23, Is there a limit to my power? There is nothing that He cannot do and you should feel good about that because He is your Father; He is my Father and it is an honour to worship Him.

4. Balaam and the talking donkey: Yo, when I was younger and I used to go the Bible Club, this story has to be one of the funniest Bible stories I have ever read. For some reason, the story just always put a smile on my face and I completely forgot about it until I read it in this book. Ya’ll, please go read Numbers 22 just to enjoy this. One important lesson though. When we serve God, we are not doing Him a favour, y’know. It is our privilege to be able to serve Him. God can order the stones to serve Him. The animals can serve Him. So, sometimes when we need to listen to God, He can even get an animal or an object to get you to listen. That’s all I’m going to say about this but if you have never read this story, please read it. It is a very interesting one.

5. God does not lie: I want you to always know something. God will never lie to you. I can lie to you; your friends and family can lie to you and the devil can lie to you but God will never lie. Everything he says about you is true and so when the devil tries to plant seeds of doubt in your mind, remind yourself of all that God has said about you in His word. Chapter 23: 19 (GNT) says: God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind. Whatever he promises, he does; He speaks and it is done. Please, never forget this. Sometimes, when the devil tries to tell me something, I almost believe it but I always have to remind myself that God loves me and He has said that He loves me and so I have to believe that and you should to.

6. Who God blesses, no one can curse: So, between Chapters 22 and 24, the King of Moab, Balak was trying to get Balaam to curse the Israelites but instead of cursing them, he blessed them even more. Balaam said in Chapter 23: 8 (GNT), How can I curse what God has not cursed or speak of doom when the Lord has not?

Ladies and Gentlemen, when God blesses you, there is nothing anyone else or anything else can do about that. Remember that.

So, this is all what I learned from this wonderful book. I enjoyed reading it and I really enjoyed sharing this with you guys. It really is a blessing to be able to do this and I am excited to keep this going. As I’ve mentioned, this gives me motivation to keep on reading and it really goes a long way in my own life as well so, I want you all to know that God is using you to bless me also and I am really grateful. I start reading the book of Deuteronomy tomorrow and I cannot wait to share what I learned with you when I am done. If you have read Numbers and you have anything else to add or you just want to let me know your thoughts, please use the comments box below. I am always willing and ready to hear from you.

P.S. I mentioned in a previous blog post that I will be changing my blog’s theme. That might happen in the next couple of days so don’t be too shocked when you see something different.